Fire-escape.



No. 788,818. PATENTBD MAY 2, 1905. T. BRIGGS 8L 8. MASTERS.

'FIRB ESCAPE.

- applied to a three-story building.

niTnn STATES Patented May 2, 1905.

THOMAS BRIGGS AND SYLVESTER MASTERS, OF JOHNSTOWVN, PENN- SYLVANIA.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 788,818, dated May 2,1905.

Application filed May 6, 1904. Serial No. 206,727. 7

To u/N/ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS Fences and SYLvns'rmn MAsrnks, citizens ofthe United States, residing in Johnstown, in the county of Cambria andState of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Fire-Escape, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to lire-escapes for buildings, such as theaters,public halls, and the like; and the object of the invention is toprovide an escape of this character in which the objectionable featuresof the ordinary ladder shall be eliminated. In the ladder form there isalways the risk of losing the footing and falling from dizziness,effects of smoke, &c., and also the progress down a ladder isnecessarily slow, and where a large number of persons are cut off fromexit from a building except by means of such a device there is greatdanger that those in advance will be crowded off of the steps or roundsof the lad der and by reason of the congestion the lad der will becomeblocked and lose the greater portion of its efficiency. In ourconstruction these risks are avoided.

Our invention consists in the novel features of construction andarrangement of parts hereinafter described, particularly pointed out inthe claims, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 isa perspective view of the device Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of thecurved portion of the escape, showing the intersection or juncture of asecond escape. Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation of the lower end of theescape, one side being partly broken away. Fig. l is a detailcross-sectional view.

In the drawings, Av represents a landing or platform carried by thebuilding and upon which a doorway of course opens. We con-' struct awall around the sides of the platform of such height that it will beimpossible for any one to be crowded from the platform. This wall B alsohas a doorway B arranged in it, and from the platform extends the chuteC, supported by brackets C, carried in a steplike series by thebuilding.

The chute C may be formed of any material found suitable and ispreferably formed in side and bottom sections 0 and 1), respectively, asshown in Fig. t. It is also formed in sections of various length, whichare joined together to form a continuous chute. In the drawings we haveillustrated the device as applied to a building of three stories. thechute being secured to a side of the building. The uppermost section ofthe chute leads from the upper platform A to the one on a level with thesecond floor of the building. At this point asection Dis inserted, whichcontains a curved section, and the wall of this section is broken awayon one side and the short branch section 1) opens into the curvedportion 1) through this opening in the wall, the section 1) leading fromthe lower platform A, as clearly shown in the drawings.

At the lower end of the chute is an adjustable hinged section E, whichwhen lowered rests on a mattress E. A cable is attached to the forwardend of the section E and passes over a pulley F, and the cable G hassecured to its free end a weight G, which normally holds the lowerhinged section E above the ground. \Vhen not in use, the mattress E iskept in the section E, as shown in Fig. 3.

In use the section E is drawn downward and preferably rested on themattress, and any means may be provided for holding it in this position.It will be obvious, however, that any one using the chute to descendwould by their weight throw the hinged section to the proper positionand would land upon the mattress.

While the chute is designed to afford aquick and safe mode of exit forpersons, it can also be used for trunks and similar articles which couldnot be carried down an ordinary ladder with ease and which would bedamaged if thrown from the windows. The sides of the chute are of such aheight that it will be impossible for one to accidentally fall from thechute and once started down they will slide smoothly and rapidly to theground. In the case of a person having been overcome by smoke it is notnecessary in an escape of this kind to carry the person down; but it isonly necessary to convey them to one of the platforms and place them inthe chute and they will be conveyed to the bottom without the necessityof any exertion on their part.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A fire-escape comprising two straight chutes, downwardly inclined inopposite directions, the lower end of one chute being adjacent the upperend of the other chute, a curved section having a branch, said curvedsection having its ends in alinement, respectively, with the straightchutes, a platform adjacent the upper end of the upper chute, and aplatform at the end of the branch of the curved section, as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. The combination with a fixed downwardly-inclined chute having a lowerend section hinged thereto, and a counterbalance connected to the freeend of the hinged section and adapted to normally hold the said end inan inoperative position, as and for the purpose set forth.

his THOMAS BRIGGS SYLVESTER MASTERS.

Witnesses:

J. W. REESE, CHARLES KUNKLE.

